A Michigan man was arrested during a virtual court hearing that was live-streamed on YouTube after it emerged he was secretly “intimidating” his alleged abuse victim by hiding in the same house as her.
Coby James Harris, 21, was accused of assaulting his ex girlfriend following an incident in the town of Sturgis, between Detroit and Chicago, in February.
At the preliminary hearing at St Joseph County District Court today, streamed on Judge Jeffrey Middleton’s YouTube channel, Harris and the alleged victim both appeared via Zoom, as reported in The Sturgis Journal.
But after less than ten minutes, assistant prosecutor Deborah Davis stopped proceedings after noticing the alleged victim behaving strangely and looking over her shoulder.
She told the court: “Your Honor … I have reason to believe that the defendant is in the same apartment as the complaining witness right now, and I am extremely scared for her safety.”
Ms Davis added: “The fact that she’s looking off to the side and he’s moving around, I want some confirmation that she is safe before we continue.”
Judge Middleton questioned both on their locations but when Harris refused to go outside and take a photo to prove he was in a different home to the alleged victim, police arrived at the door and took him into custody.
Harris told the judge: “Your Honor, me and [redacted] both don’t want the no-contact.
“I ask that be dropped. I’m sorry I lied to you. I knew the cops were outside. I don’t know why I...”
Judge Middleton interrupted Harris and said: “Mr. Harris, my advice is, don’t say anything else. Take the cigarette out of your mouth.”
He added: “The hearing is adjourned. Your bond is canceled. If you have $10 million, you can’t bond out. In addition, the prosecutor’s probably also going to charge you with obstruction of justice.”
Middleton later told the court this was an unusual incident that had never happened “when we were having live court.”
He added: “That’s the first time I ever had anybody sitting in the next room potentially intimidating a witness to assault.”
